After a strange dream and an equally odd present, Kali decides to believe in the unbelievable. Vampires. But what happens when she finds out that her dream guy has a secret, or that her life is on the line due to a bet among the supernatural?

The
shouts coming from behind me gradually drifted in the dark
nothingness as I slowed my pace. I had only been running for about
fifteen minutes before they gave up all hope of catching me. Of
course, they had more evidence than ever now that I had outrun them.
Evidence that could lead them to the conclusion that I wasn't
human. I chuckled to myself as I thought aloud, "They're simply
human. Not one of them will ever find out what I am."

I
had no idea why they were even chasing me until one of the humans
shouted something about a murder. Then I remembered that a few days
ago there had been a murder. A very macabre murder at that. The
pitiful human had had her throat practically ripped out. It did seem
like something that we would do. But, as vampires, we are intelligent
enough to know the consequences of our actions. Some vampires have
lived for centuries and never been caught for killing a human.

There
are two reasons why we kill humans. The first, obviously, is because
vampires crave blood. Especially human blood. The second is to get
another vampire into trouble. Some of us kill, and leave a trail that
leads directly to our enemy. That was exactly what happened here.
Another vampire simply decided to let the entire town of Clarksburg,
Massachusetts believe that I was the one who had killed that stupid
girl.

Most
vampires, such as myself, drink animal blood. The few of us who do,
are young vampires. I wouldn't exactly consider myself young, being
that I was born in the year 1904. As a vampire, I am only eighty-five
years old. I was turned when I was nineteen, in 1923.

I
shuddered as I remembered the night that my human life was taken
away, and I was forced to live in secrecy for all eternity. But
instead of living a secluded life as a vampire, I pretended to be
human and lived peacefully in Clarksburg, and whenever an overly
curious human noticed that I didn't age, I would arrange for them
to have an accident of sorts. I was too civilized to kill them
myself, so I had a few friends who were willing to get the job done.

I
focused my attention back to the matter at hand. Only minutes ago, I
had outrun dozens of crazed humans that thought I was a murderer,
although I don't know who the actual murderer is.

Right
now, I had bigger problems. Like where I am going to stay. I had been
run out of my estate in Massachusetts, and I had nowhere else to go.
Suddenly I remembered a house that I had visited frequently when I
was friends with its owner. I had spoken with the owner since I was
human in the early 1900's.

After
I was turned, I purposely lost touch with her. She had become
obsessed with me the moment we met, a fact that I didn't learn
until I after I became a vampire. As a matter of fact, she was so
infatuated with me, she had herself turned as well. All because she
wanted to spend her entire life and afterlife with me. Her words, not
mine. About a week ago, I heard that she had left to vacation in
Ireland, or somewhere in that area. I hoped she was still gone so I
could borrow her house for a while. If she was there when I arrived,
she might get the wrong impression.

I
stopped all of a sudden. Thinking about Darcy was beginning to make
me sick. I had no intention of being friends, or more than friends,
with her. But then again, I could always kill her…

Sighing,
I began to run again, only to notice that I had come out of the
forests long ago, and was now standing on an empty sidewalk. I
couldn't remember the exact name of the street that Darcy's house
was near, but looking at the street sign on the corner of the
sidewalk, I could tell I was headed the wrong way. The sign was
labeled Darlington Ave. I wondered how I could possibly get lost in a
town as small as Ramsey, New Jersey. It suprised me that it had only
taken less than twenty minutes to get from Massachusetts to New
Jersey. It would have taken me at least thirty, but I was being
chased, so I had sped up a lot.

I
decided that if I continued walking this way, I would eventually come
to the house. Time passed slowly as I strolled down the sidewalk, and
I thought about how the impact of running of away would bruise my
ego. It probably wouldn't. I had more confidence than Darcy did.
She would walk into a room and strut around like she owned the place.
The confidence probably came with the fact that we are predators.

Before
I turned off of Darlington Ave., I passed a house that was decorated
with colored lights and I suddenly recalled that today was Christmas
Day. Of course, it was now after midnight, so it wasn't exactly
Christmas anymore.

Through
the thick snowfall, I could see a woman in her early thirties open
the door. She stepped back as a few other people walked by her and
thanked her for letting them spend Christmas with her, then they got
into a car that was parked in the driveway and drove slowly down the
road. For a moment, I was reminded of the times that I had spent
holidays with my family. I quickly straightened up and pushed the
thought to the back of my mind.

Thanks
to my extraordinary hearing, I learned that the woman was Kelsey
Rowe. She walked back inside and said something to someone that she
called Kali. I tried to remember those names as I continued walking
in what I was now sure was the right direction. I could have run, but
I decided to save my energy, just in case I did have to kill Darcy.

Eventually,
I made it to the house. Its front door was locked, and to avoid
suspicion, I didn't bust out the windows. Instead, I walked to the
back door and found that it was unlocked. I could hear the water
rushing in the creek off to side of the house. Upon noticing the
garden in the backyard, I grimaced. I would have to do something
about the flowers. I opened the door to the large, white house and
prayed that Darcy wasn't on the other side.

I
stepped into a room that would have been frigid, had I not been
naturally cold. I flipped on a switch beside the door and tried to
adjust my eyes to the bright lights. Trying to remember where the
bathroom was, I walked up the staircase and opened the first door I
found, which happened to be the bathroom.

I
splashed cold water onto my face to try not to fall asleep. Sadly,
vampires have to sleep too. But only for about an hour or two.
Unfortunately, I hadn't slept for a few days, and I reminded myself
to sleep tonight so I could begin the process of fitting into this
new town tomorrow.

I
stood up straight and stared at my reflection in the mirror. Yes,
vampires have reflections, but we can control when people can see
them. If I felt like scaring some kid by not having a reflection, I
could. It was one of many abilities that we vampires have acquired
over the past few thousands of years.

My
reflection startled me when I saw it. Not because I had never seen
it, because I had. But because I looked tired. I hadn't fed or
slept in days, and you could tell. My jet-black hair was messier than
usual and my navy blue eyes had turned black with thirst. I quickly
attempted to fix my hair and then walked back downstairs.

I
found what I was looking for as soon as I entered the living room.
Beside the gray sofa was an end table with a phone on it. I sat down
on the couch and picked up the phone. I listened to the message that
Darcy had programmed into it before she left. It said that she was on
vacation for another month, and wouldn't be back until early
February at the latest. Perfect. I dialed a number that I had become
familiar with over the past few years.

I
interrupted the man before he could even ask what I wanted,"Hello,
Gabriel. It's me, Viktor. I was wondering if you knew anything
about a girl named Kali Rowe."

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